Let's Build Resiliency from the Roots Up
🌲 The Plant Cunning Conference is a 3-day in-person event featuring speakers, workshops, plant walks, artists, and live music to build community and resiliency with people wise to the ways of Nature at the beautiful Cohosh Creek Herb Farm and Sanctuary in Central New York.
Featuring
The speakers for the 2024 Plant Cunning Conference are some of the most inspiring thought leaders, authors, herbalist, astrologers and gardeners of our time. We will have plant walks, fungi walks, hands on workshops and lectures.
Pam Montgomery
Author, teacher, international speaker and Earth Elder who has passionately embraced her role as a spokesperson for the green beings and has been investigating plants/trees and their intelligent spiritual nature for more than three decades. She is the author of two books one of which is the highly acclaimed Plant Spirit Healing; A Guide to Working with Plant Consciousness and Partner Earth; A Spiritual Ecology. She operates the Partner Earth Education Center at Sweetwater Sanctuary in Danby, Vermont where co-creative partnership with Nature research takes place. Pam also teaches internationally on plant spirit healing, spiritual ecology and people as Nature Evolutionaries. She is a founding member of United Plant Savers and more recently the Organization of Nature Evolutionaries or O.N.E. Her latest passion is to engage ceremonially in full symbiosis within the plant/human matrix where the elder common plants and trees initiate and guide us into being truly human.
Mychal A. Bryan
Mychal A. Bryan is a Bahamian-Jamaican astrologer, author, and clinical hypnotherapist living in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the founder of the Oraculos School of Astrology, where he offers a rigorous training in concrete, event-based astrology. Mychal is actively engaged in a project to write the entire curriculum of teaching offered at OSA in a series of textbooks. Thusfar, he has published two volumes in this series: “Mastering Traditional Astrology” and “Horary Astrology & the Natal Promise.” A respected teacher, Mychal regularly provides public astrology demonstrations where he proves the validity of astrology as a means of identifying concrete events that occur within people’s lives. To study with Mychal and learn more about him, visit: OraculosAstrology.com
7Song
The story of 7Song's birth remains a mystery. He was 'found' one day hitchhiking on a New York State turnpike with a sign saying, "My name is 7Song, please teach me how to be an herbalist." The language he spoke was indecipherable but seemed to be a cobbled mix of Latin and Greek botanical names (which led to speculation that he likely was tutored by some type of botanist, though this was never proven).
Coincidentally, the first person to pick him up was a retired ethnobotanist on a field trip to find the origins of Sassafras. From there, they eventually reached the mountains of Chimborazo in Ecadour, where 7Song spent the next 7 years living in a hollowed-out tree, absorbing all he could from his surroundings.
Afterward, he traveled the hippie circuit, learning all he could about herbal medicine and making beaded crystal necklaces.
Since then, he has made it his mission to help others learn the value of herbal medicine (but let the necklaces go, as they kept breaking while he was wildcrafting).
Lisa Fazio
Lisa Fazio is an Irish/Italian American folkloric witch, heretic, herbalist, astrologer, and una donna che aiutana (one who helps). Her primary focus is ancestral revival and remembrance within the Italian American diaspora. She practices the Folk Catholic and animistic traditions of her Italian ancestors who were the original people of Calabria; the Brutti people, and Benevento; the Samnite people. She is a mother of 4 children and Nonna to 2 grandchildren. She is the author of the forthcoming book “Della Medicina: The Traditions of Italian American Folk Healing” to be released October 2024.
Charis Lindrooth
Charis Lindrooth is the founder and director of BotanicWise, a platform dedicated to authentic herbal education, where plant wisdom can be shared and where like-minded people can connect and build a community to steward land, medicinal plants, and supportive relationships with each other. As a practicing herbalist and chiropractor for three decades, Charis has devoted years of study to the workings of the brain and holistic solutions to support better cognition and memory. After her diagnosis of Parkinson’s, her journey with brain health took a more personal turn, and it is her mission to share what she has learned with anyone interested in holistic and plant-based solutions to support the nervous system. Dive deep into the fascinating world of neurochemistry and plant wisdom in Charis's class at the conference, "Maximize Memory and Focus" designed to empower you with the knowledge and tools to enhance your cognitive abilities naturally and effectively.
Rebecca Beyer
Rebecca Beyer is an Appalachian Folk herbalist, Traditional Witch, and wild food forager dedicated to living simply on the Earth. She has taught and presented at universities, conferences and gatherings over the last 10 years with the hope of showing people that living a seasonal life grounded in connection with the Old Ways is possible. Through growing, foraging, hunting, fishing and preserving her own food, she strives to create a life as close to her ancestors as possible while paying homage to the diverse peoples who created beloved Appalachia.
Rebecca is the author of two books, Mountain Magic and Wild Witchcraft. She makes her living tattooing, teaching foraging and Appalachian folk herbalism and craft classes at her school, Blood and Spicebush School of Old Craft. Rebecca currently spends her days dedicating herself to Appalachian folk arts, primitive skills, folk music and learning the names of all the beings she shares her bioregion with.
Mike Tamburo
Mike Tamburo is a world-renowned musician, composer, artist and educator. He is known and loved for his transformational live concerts performed on his personally curated set of gongs, bells and other metal instruments. A lifelong multi-instrumentalist, Tamburo has focused his talents on metal percussion instruments, string instruments (hammered dulcimer, guitar, zither, shahi baaja), as well as electronic instruments (synths, looping). Since 1994, Tamburo has shared more than 2,000 concerts and workshops. He has recorded over 70 albums, both solo and in collaboration with Crown of Eternity, Meisha, Arco Flute Foundation, Psychic Frost, Brother Ong and more, ranging from epic gong music to ecstatic and transcendental string music, as well as folk, drone, space rock, ambient, mantra music and sometimes unclassifiable sounds. This man loves music in all its forms! He teaches gong music, both in person and online with School of Gong. Tamburo is also an interdisciplinary sound artist, instrument builder, video artist, sound therapist, writer and meditation teacher.
JoAnna Farrer
JoAnna is the host of the Coffee & Divination Podcast, and the co-founder of the North Wyldewood Tradition of Witchcraft. She is a full-time professional violinist, and also practices a form of oracular divination inspired by the trance traditions of ancient Greece. On her farm in northern VT, she combines her deep love of ecology and Pagan animism through permaculture, and shares her homestead with her husband and their many farm animals. Come learn from JoAnna all about Divination at the conference. Divination is the art of obtaining knowledge through hidden means, and has been a part of civilizations around the world - likely for tens of thousands of years. Divination can help us understand situations, answer questions, and give us insight on the threads that weave our lives together. While our world undergoes this time of upheaval, studying and practicing the arts of divination can help us navigate and plan for the roads ahead.
Brian Wilkins
Brian is an author/poet, diviner, and teacher of qigong in a Northern Wu Style Taijiquan lineage. As a part of their practice, they engage with the form (or other qigong sequences) to become aware of our constant connectedness to the world we are in: in other words, we are doing Tai Chi with trees. Brian is offering a morning movement class at the conference with offer a short sequence with that keeps that goal of interconnectedness in mind. It’s accommodating to all different types of bodies, and he’s happy to modify the activity to fit anyone's physical needs.
Gert Coleman
Herbal educator, writer, gardener, editor, and herb enthusiast, Gert Coleman loves, grows, eats, and reads avidly about herbs. Retired professor of English, she lives on 100+ acres in Central New York, growing herbs, flowers, trees, and at-risk native plants with her husband and dog. As an herbal educator, she has taught humorous and informative programs for all ages at parks, museums, and conferences; helped maintain a 70' x 70' colonial herb garden for 3 decades; apprenticed with Rosemary Gladstar; compiled and edited five Herb of the Year™ books; and writes about the legends, lore, and poetry of herbs. In addition, she teaches workshops on nature writing in the wild places of New York and beyond.
Olga Tzogas
Olga has been foraging mushrooms and plants for food and medicine for many years, and started Rochester, NY based Smugtown Mushrooms in 2011 offering up fresh fungi, extracts, educational events, & fungi tours. Smugtown offers mushroom grow kits, high quality mushroom extracts, dried mushrooms, books, and more. Olga offers engaging classes like cooking classes with mushrooms and fungi walks to bring the love of mushrooms to the people. She's the instigator of the New Moon Mycology Summit . Olga also leads small groups of earth lovers to her homeland of Greece in the Fall seasons to forage mushrooms, herbs and learn the sacred ecology of the Eastern Mediterraean.
Isaac Hill
Isaac is an astrologer, esotericist, and co-host of the Plant Cunning Podcast. He is a permaculturist with over a decade of experience gardening and cultivating a native plant nursery. He's the primary gardener and grounds keeper of Cohosh Creek Herb Farm where he's planted hundreds of fruit & nut trees, shrubs, blueberries, asparagus, perennial herbs, greens, flowers, medicinal herbs and fungi and some veggies. He's also an excellent song writer and musician, leading in the Hills and the Rivers.
Isaac will lead a garden tour for one the plant walk sessions to discuss some of the garden design elements as well as highlighting some of the incredible plants he nurtures at the farm.
Alexandra Wendt
Alexandra Wendt has a private practice called, The Flora Grimoire and offers her gifts as a professional Astrologer, Earth Medicine Person, Ecstatic Dance teacher, and Psychic Herbalist. She is also a Clairvoyant voice reader and has been singing for over 25 years. She has studied directly with Tyler Penor of the School of Living Astrology, Asia Suler of One Willow Apothecaries, Emily Hamilton of Earth Speak, and Jeffrey Boehme of the Spiritual Science Society. She works as a medicinal herb farmer at Healing Spirits in Avoca, NY and lives with her Visionary Arts partner, Stefan Lucas Allen and their cat, Rowley. Together they practice the Cobra Breath and support the collective with their teaching skills & creations. Alexandra will be hosting Weaving Waters Freeform Movement, freeform dance space that incorporates Ecstatic Dance & vocal opening, on Friday evening in the Big Barn. Feel free to approach her at The Flora Grimoire vending tent at the conference or on Instagram for inquiries about session work. Learn more about Alexandra through her Instagram page, @thefloragrimoire and through @waxingwaters where she co-host dances with Liv Sun.
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson is a fungi expert, educator, event organizer and runs a thriving businesses, Harmony Acres Farm and All Things Amanita centered around medicinal mushrooms and plants, offering high-quality extractions and dried mushrooms to retail and wholesale customers worldwide. His offerings extend beyond products, as he provides one-on-one consultations, facilitates ceremonies, and leads workshops and lectures on the healing power of nature. You can often find Michael sharing his knowledge and wares at mushroom festivals and other events, where he sets up his tinctures and non-alcoholic elixir bar. Michael's greatest joy lies in providing support and guidance to individuals on their healing journeys, believing that we all possess the innate ability to heal ourselves with a little support along the way.
Meghan Kirkpatrick
Meghan will lead us through yoga and breathwork sessions at the conference this year. Meghan is passionate about plants and people, especially bringing the two together. She wears a lot of hats. In addition to being the General Manager of the Bark Eater Inn in Keene Valley, NY, she is also a gardener, herbalist, cook, naturalist, yoga teacher, Breathwork facilitator, event coordinator and avid crafter. She has been leading monthly gatherings for years with the women of her community to circle together and share story, song and snacks. She is the organizer of the annual Radiant Moon Women's Gathering hosted at the beautiful Bark Eater Inn which happens in September 6-8, 2024.
Tere Marie
Tere (Pronounced TREE) is an organic farmer, plant keeper, holistic reproductive health educator, astrologer, folk herbalist, and somatic embodiment muse. She's insanely passionate about helping women and folx liberate themselves into their most delicious, deeply satisfying, purpose filled lives. She helps people find eroticism, magick and mystery in the mundane. She frames this work through the wisdom of archetypal cycles, or, what she calls the 4 P’s: Planets, Plants, Pussy and Personal Agency. She's been a space holder and circle facilitator for close to 15 years, a decade, as a doula, somatic movement facilitator, holistic reproductive health practitioner, astrologer, and ceremonialist. In addition to hosting “The Garden:Pleasure as the Path”, Tere and her partner, Jamie, will be vending plants grown from seed on Wyllie Fox Farm, their Organic farm based in Cato, NY.
The People's Cauldron
The Kingston, NY area based People's Cauldron folks will be setting up a station at the conference to craft mutual aid support kits for the community. We are calling out to all attendees to bring any herbs, tinctures, first aid supplies, or medicine making supplies like old bottles to the conference to contribute to the kit building . The Peoples Cauldron is a not-for-profit, spiritual organization based that operates a community herbal apothecary. They provide free herbal services, including health and wellness consultations, herbal preparations, harm reduction supplies, and home medicine-making supplies to communities in need. The People’s Cauldrons’ values are deeply rooted in de-colonial praxis; biocentrism & mutual aid. They have a deep focus on rediscovering traditional relationships to plants, our planet and wellness, particularly for our BIPOC communities. They recognize that our mother earth is in crisis. All of her children are oppressed by ongoing colonization and ecocide. They understand that the systematic erasure of plant medicine traditions and forceful replacement with for-profit, industrialized medicine is a primary mechanism of oppression in marginalized communities. Locally, they're working with their communities to build spaces and support for people to reclaim these sacred plant medicine traditions. The Peoples Cauldron sees bio-regional plants as a liberatory resource that all communities should be aware of in order to build self-reliance and meaningful tradition
The Hills and the Rivers
The Hills and the Rivers' organic, complex, and timeless yet fresh sound is the fruit of tireless touring, finely honed song craft, and the familial bond at the heart of the band. Centered around the Hill siblings, this acoustic ensemble creates completely original, delicate and powerful music.
"I’m so happy that I found this band and their music right now, in a time when there’s been such a lack of creativity in folk music (for too long I say). This is, without a doubt, the good stuff." - No Depression
Liana Gable
Average Joey
Schedule Snapshot
Gather in our big red barn with herbalists, farmers, astrologers, artists, musicians, community leaders to learn about the magic of plants and to deepen our connection with nature and each other.
About the Land
Cohosh Creek Herb Farm and Sanctuary is nested in the beautiful rolling hills of Central New York, high on the Allegheny Plataea on the lands of the Oneida Peoples of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. We are honored and in awe of this place's magic and abundance and know that it has been and continues to be stewarded by both humans and the spirits of place with care and dedication.
There’s a large barn & event tent for us to have sessions in. There are lovely herb gardens, young orchards and woods to explore. The vendor area is overlooking a beautiful valley and the Tillette Creek (pronounced crick of course).
We hope our guests will be able to make a long weekend of this conference to truly drop-in to the land and benefit from the peaceful beauty and healing it offers.
Cohosh Creek Herb Farm
415 County Rd 41
South Edmeston, NY
Registration & Pricing
Registration is now open!
There are scholarships and volunteer tickets available. The ticket prices ensure that our speakers are compensated fairly & the food is nourishing and delicious. If price is an issue, please email us at info@plantcunning.com to work something out.
I'll Take it All
$325
Everything included from Thursday evening camp set up to Sunday closing, the tea bar, all sessions and activities, and even the nourishing meal plan of 6 meals throughout the conference.
Adult Ticket Price
$225
This is the standalone ticket price of the conference which includes all sessions Friday through Sunday, the live music show Saturday, and access to the tea bar all weekend. You can bring your own snacks and meals and commute or find your own local lodging.
Young Adults Age 12-18
$75
Young Adults from 12-18 can come for a reduced rate of $75.
You'll may order a meal plan if you want one for a total of $150.
Children under 11 and younger are free to attend, though you may wish to purchase a meal plan ticket for them.
Meal Plan Add-on
$75
Nourishing mostly local and organic foods prepared for different dietary preferences (Vegan, GF, Nut Free with options for meat & wheat eaters too). Friday dinner, Saturday Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Sunday Breakfast & Lunch Included. Tea bar will be open all weekend and accoutrements bar available for toppings to each delicious meal.
Reduced Rate & Scholarship Tickets
$75-$150
Scholarships ($75) and reduced rate tickets ($150) are available for those who need a financial support in order to attend.
Scholarships are on a first come first serve basis, limited spots available.
Fill our this form to apply.
Camping Add-on
$25
Access to grounds Thursday night to set up camp and stay in your tent or vehicle for the weekend. Each adult camping should get a camping pass. Families camping with kids under 18 don’t have to get a pass for each kid, just the adults. We have water fill up, portapotties on site, a camp shower, and plenty of shady wooded spots or field spots.
Volunteer / Work Trade
$75
Join the Volunteer Crew
Volunteer Team has been filled, thank you.
Saturday Only Ticket
$100
Includes Saturday Lunch, Dinner, & Music. This ticket is for locals or folks who can only make it for a day trip. Join us on Saturday morning starting at 9:30am. Enjoy the the workshops, lectures and plant walks all day, as well as the music. Your lunch and dinner will be included in this ticket (not breakfast).
Camping is not included.
Vending Add On
$45
Join the vendor alley! Each vendor & any assistants will need to purchase their own ticket & meal plan, but camping is free to vendors. If you're vendor app is approved we will invoice you $45 for the vendor fee. Apply here.
